UPDATE: We've also reviewed the VUDU 4K UHD streaming version with Dolby Vision & Dolby Atmos. Check it out HERE.

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What's up, everybody! I hope you're all getting ready for a fun movie-or-TV-filled weekend. I just got back from a press preview of the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 24K Ultra HD Blu-ray where we demoed three of the HD Exclusive behind-the-scenes featurettes, a new music video starring 80s icon David Hasselhoff and the rest of the GOTGV2 cast, and about 15 minutes of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray itself.

Director James Gunn and David Hasselhoff were on hand to chat about working together (the Hoff had just arrived from Berlin because of course he did and he's also a German icon in addition to an American one) where I learned his "We Are Groot" appearance in the closing credits was shot on Gunn's iPhone.

Guardians Vol. 2 will also be available August 8 via Digital on a bunch of different streaming platforms, including Disney Movies Anywhere, iTunes, Amazon Video, VUDU, Google Play, Microsoft, or Fios by Verison. FYI, as I'm writing this, you can pre-order the movie in HD on iTunes, Amazon, and VUDU.

Today we confirmed with Disney that VUDU.com will be offering a 4K UHD streaming version of Vol. 2 in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, although it doesn't appear to be up for pre-order at this time. It's not clear where one can stream the film in HDR10 or if there will be any other Dolby Vision streaming options (Google Play?). Stay tuned, we hope to know more next week.

During our Q&A period, Gunn reiterated his passion for Dolby Vision saying, in regards to the theatrical release, "I love the Disney 3D version, but I also really love the Dolby Vision so putting that version on home video was really important because I thought it was the best version."

Also import and kinda bad news: Disney PR reps informed me that the digital code included with the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray will NOT unlock the 4K UHD digital / streaming version, which is a big bummer for those who are fans of Dolby Vision, but also enjoy the reliability and increased bitrate of physical media. That said, they didn't seem 100% sure and a month ago Disney PR reps told other journalists, incorrectly, that the 4K Blu-ray would feature Dolby Vision. So we'll have to play the waiting game to see what happens. I'll be checking a Disney-provided code on August 8 to see what happens, and we'll check again when our 4K Blu-ray screener arrives for M. Enois Duarte to review.

IF YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT

If you're reading this article and aren't up to date on terms like HDR or HDR10 or Dolby Vision or Dolby Atmos or even 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, no worries, we have a whole bunch of articles explaining those technologies which you can read here:

The short version: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray is a year-old physical media format that displays content at a 4K resolution that's been graded for HDR, which improves contrast as well as visible details in dark and ultra bright imagery, and Wide Color Gamut, which gives you access to more vivid colors (and colors that more closely reproduce the theatrical experience) even when the images themselves are brighter. It's basically the best physical media format ever (in terms of capabilities) and Guardians Vol. 2is actually Disney's first 4K disc.

GUARDIANS OF THE SPECIAL FEATURES

As a reminder, the 4K and Blu-ray versions of Guardians include the following HD Exclusives (there are no bonus materials on the DVD):

-The Making of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2-Visionary Intro with director James Gun-Guardians Inferno Music Video-Gag Reel-Four Deleted Scenes-Audio Commentary with director James Gunn

And the Digital HD versions exclusively add:

Three Scene Breakdowns and a look at the new Disneyland ride, Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout.

In our demo, we saw three of the four chapters from the aforementioned Making Of documentary as well as the music video.

The Director's Chair with James Gunn. Behind the scenes footage, movie clips, and talking-head interviews make up this love letter to James Gunn. The filmmaker talks about his intentions with, and success of, the first film and how he hopes to carry it into Vol. 2. Then everyone talks about how great Mr. Gunn is at writing and directing. And, by the looks of it, they all worked very hard and had a great time doing so. Mr. Gunn oozes confidence talking about his story and while leading on set.

Showtime: The Cast of Vol. 2. Similar to the director's chair in construction, James Gunn talks about how he collaborates with each actor to build their characters and what they each bring to the production. Again, from hours in makeup to goofing around between takes to high-wire green screen stunts, everyone is having a visibly grand time and it really translates to the final product.

Reunion Tour: The Music of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Before Spotify lists, there were honest-to-God mixed tapes. In the Guardians universe, the soundtracks are characters in and of themselves, born early in the writing process and used to build emotions and drive action. Here, Mr. Gunn describes the backstory behind a number of his musical selections, like how he used Fleetwood Mac's The Chain at key parts of his characters' arcs, along with his musical score collaborations with Tyler Bates.

Guardians Inferno Music Video. Speaking of which, Gunn and Tyler Bates further collaborated to write a 70s disco-rap song, performed by 80s icon David Hasselhoff, which you might recognize from the film's end credits. Actor/filmmaker David Yarovesky directs a love letter to the ultra cheesy late 70s disco music videos, featuring long-haired ladies and mustache-and-super-chopped adorned guys draped in glittering polyester and blown out across the screen through kaleidoscope-inspired video effects (sadly, no star wipes). Definitely watch this one for the cast cameos.

During our demo, we started (I think) around Chapter 2 where the Guardians are in the blue and gold Sovereign throne room and watched all the way to the scene where Sylvester Stallone and The Ravagers confront Yondu at the neon-covered city of ill-repute. (BTW, I know these places all have specific names, but I forgot them and haven't been able to find them online, so my apologies for the lack of specificity).

Make no mistake, the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray DESTROYS the Blu-ray in every possible way (even when said Blu-ray is up-rezzed by what's probably the BEST 4K player on the market on arguably the BEST 4K display available today).

I'm not kidding or exaggerating.

No hyperbole whatsoever.

The difference is visible and dramatic.

I'll still need to check out the VUDU version and watch the whole disc to be certain, but unless there are serious flaws hiding somewhere, Guardians Vol. 2 is probably going to set a new standard as the best, demo-worthy 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray the young format has ever seen.

How so? I'm glad you asked.

First, we need to talk about highlight details.

From chandeliers to lights reflecting off spaceship windows to suns blazing in cloudy skies to fiery explosions, GOTGV2 features a ton of in-frame bright objects. On the Blu-ray, these bright spots are hazy and monolithic and, pretty much, one tone of white or off white. On the 4K Blu-ray with HDR, the light sources themselves are smaller and more precise, especially during shots of the sun (or a star, I suppose, since it's not Earth, but I digress). You can see the glowing orb along with clouds and window frames around them. You can see the fine details of the billowing clouds. You can see Mantis' antennae as she emerges from Ego's ship (where in the Blu-ray they vanish). In other words, these details make the Guardians universe dramatically more realistic and realized.

Next, let's talk sharpness.

Many 4K Blu-rays are, admittedly, not noticeably sharper than up-rezzed Blu-rays. Most of this comes down to source materials and, while I don't know the specifics of the Guardians Vol. 2 post-process (I believe it's was finished in 4K, but don't quote me on this), again the differences are clear as can be. The Blu-ray is sharp-ish as presented on the 2017 LG OLED. Details are defined. Locations are well rendered. You can see the textures and fabrics and sets, but they're never wholly CRISP. In side-by-side comparisons, the Blu-ray looks evvvvvvvver-so-slightly out of focus and washed out.

The 4K Blu-ray, by comparison, is razor sharp to the point where you can see wrinkles in Nebula and Gamora's makeup, gold flake in the Sovereign citizens' skin, individual tree branches as they're crash landing on the planet with the green forests, each whisker in Kurt Russel's beard, and the paint on the set walls. To be fair, many folks won't appreciate these fine details, but, again, they add to the realness of the world and picky perfection-demanding viewers are going to love peeping pixels because it's all there.

Moving on to black levels

Sometimes, especially with OLEDs, HDR10 encoded movies with really dark scenes crush shadow details. There are ways around this and the 2017 OLEDs are brighter than the 2016 model we reviewed HERE, but still, it's a concern given the way HDR10's static metadata is encoded. I'm happy to report, even in darker scenes like the space battle and the interior of the Guardians' ship and the early-evening scene with Yondu, there was no crushing or lost details. This is a very good HDR transfer even though it lacks dynamic metadata. Black levels are, as they tend to be with OLEDs, perfect.

Lastly, let's talk color volume.

Much like my press events at Fox where we demoed The Revenant and Deadpool, doing side-by-side comparisons offers a far quicker and more perfect demonstration of how 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray bests Blu-ray because A-to-B-to-A-to-B testing allows just enough time to pass for one's memories to cloud.

Seeing the same images moving in (semi) sync allows your eyes to linger over both frames at once and it's here you realize that, while Guardians doesn't have a dramatically different color palette like The Revenant, Vol. 2 boasts a much more vibrant and richer color palette that is so gorgeous, you can imagine this very disc and demo selling HDR capable TVs to the masses.

Like Pixar and other CGI animations, the colors in this movie are perfect for showing off your display. From the blue Sovereign palace and Nebula's skin to the green forests and Gamora's skin to the Neon-adorned buildings of the shady world where Yondu meets up with the other Ravagers who all hate his guts. In every single scene, the 4K Blu-ray's BOLD colors pop and catch your eye, even in those brighter areas mentioned above -- where the Blu-ray pushes into white when it runs out of a certain color in Rec.709, this P3 color space allows for blue skies and orange flames and red laser blasts, which all adds to the overall sharpness and vibrancy.

FINAL THOUGHTS (IS IT TOO SOON TO GIVE IT 5-STARS?)

The featurettes and music video were definitely fun, and fans are going to love those, but I went to this event to see the demo and the results are, to put it mildly, spectacular.

The Blu-ray is like watching the movie with sunglasses on, where as the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray is like watching after you've had laser eye surgery.

I can't wait to own it.

To be fair, we've only seen 15 minutes of GOTGV2 on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, so we can't go giving out the 5-Star score just yet, but, caveat aside, this movie looks bolder, brighter, and more colorful than Pacific Rim and The Great Gatsby, my favorite HDR10/WCG demo discs thus far (and unlike those 2K-up-rezzed titles, I didn't notice any other flaws that would chip away at a perfect score).

Honestly, guys and gals, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 looks shockingly good in 4K and I'm so very excited for you to see what I just saw. Is it a bummer that Dolby Vision isn't available on the disc? Sure, but after seeing this 4K Blu-ray with HDR10, you're going to be very, very happy.

That said, look for a VUDU 4K UHD review as well in the coming days so we can describe the Dolby Vision version as well as what the lossy Dolby Atmos track sounds like on streaming.

From Dolby Atmos speaker systems and high-end headphones to Ultra HD TVs and virtual reality gadgets, the show floor was packed with impressive demos, allowing me to go hands-on with some exciting new gear.

Last week, I had the extraordinary privilege of attending the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2world premiere at The Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA. As I've written before, Hollywood premieres are a unique because they are a few hours where the magic of Hollywood, rather than the often mundane business aspects, shine brightest. There are screaming fans, stars on the red (or in this case purple) carpet, free concessions, and a cavernous auditorium where filmmakers, performers, and craftsmen also gather for the Academy Awards.

On top of all of this generally good buzz, we had a ginormous laser Dolby Vision projection system with its 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio with one of the most expansive Dolby Atmos configurations in the world. So technically, The Dolby Theatre isn't a true Dolby Cinema (or Dolby Cinema at AMC), but for you to experience the movie like I did, you'll need to see out the Dolby Cinema format.

THE MOVIE ITSELF

With the original Guardians of the Galaxy -- heretofore known has Vol. 1 -- director/co-writer James Gunn and his creative collaborators put a fresh spin on the comic book and space opera genres. Fusing together meta-comedy, a band of rogues, '70s rock music, a neon color palette, and a unique tonal balance, the filmmakers arguably produced one of Marvel's best pictures in its growing canon.

This week sees the release of GuardiansVol. 2, which is a rare comedy sequel -- like 22 Jump Street -- that stands shoulder to shoulder with its predecessor. I'll leave our full in-depth review to Phil Brown over in the Bonus View, but, for me, Vol. 2 feels as fresh as the original while simultaneously giving you a heaping serving of the elements that worked so well the first trip 'round the galaxy. Much of this is due to the way Gunn and team give the story time to breathe. In place of the now-standard bloated, overly plotted "turn off your brain" blockbuster, Vol. 2 focus on its characters and thematics, pairing people (and aliens) off to deal with their fears and flaws... all while making the audience laugh themselves silly and -- somehow -- feel a genuine connection to main, CGI, and secondary characters alike. (#BabyGroot4Ever)

In other words, if you enjoyed Vol. 1, get your walkman ready because Vol. 2 is gonna be on repeat for a long time.

DOLBY VISION

You know how there are movies like Gravity or The Jungle Book that define a premium technology? Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the single most vibrant and resplendent Dolby Vision title to date.

Projected on a large screen with a proprietary, dual-4K laser projection system, Dolby Cinemas boast more brightness, wider color capabilities, and the best contrast ratio of any commercial cinema experience today (IMAX Laser is also all kinds of wonderful). Guardians Vol. 2 is simply glorious in Dolby Vision, offering start-to-finish eye-candy that is colorful and sharp with pure black levels.

Not only are there moments where the screen simply vanishes, plunging the auditorium into darkness, but I'm fairly certain there are extended sequences that feel like they've been graded to the wider Rec.2020 color space (I'll make sure to update this when I confirm). If that's true, it's only the fourth production to do so since Pixar's Inside Out. (the sub-conscience scene) & The Good Dinosaur (the bad fruit scene), and the entirety of The LEGO Batman Movie. If I'm wrong, then this is one of the most visually stunning uses of the DCI P3 color space I've ever seen.

My comments must sound like hyperbole -- and, make no mistake, the tech geek in me is genuinely excited -- but, sincerely, this movie is a visual stunner. Play close attention to the fauna of Kurt Russel's planet, or to the exotic worlds and planets visited as Rocket space-jumps between them all, or to what's best described as celestial fireworks near the film's final moments. I very much enjoyed the movie along, but couldn't help but sit back at least once a scene to marvel at all the digital artistry on display. Jaw... dropped.

Since Disney has yet to support Dolby Vision or HDR10 in the home entertainment landscape, if you get a chance to see Vol. 2in a Dolby Cinema, take it. It's quite honestly the best HDR/WCG I've ever seen, sitting next to Pacific Rim for pure eye-candy glory.

Let's just hope we get to take this one home someday.

[4/26/17 RUMOR UPDATE: there are rumors going around saying James Gunn was SO impressed by releasing Vol. 2 in Dolby Vision and Atmos that he's pushing Disney to release this movie on Ultra HD Blu-ray with both technologies. So will Guardians Vol. 2 be The Very First Disney UHD title??? Gosh, I have no idea, but I sure hope so.]

DOLBY ATMOS

While Vol. 2 doesn't define Dolby Atmos in the same way Mad Mad Fury Road or Gravity did, the latest Marvel adventure uses the object-based surround format in consistently engaging ways, proving filmmakers are thinking about sound mixes as Atmos-first rather than multi-channel affairs that get an Atmos upgrade.

Vol. 2 in Dolby Atmos offers an ultra dynamic and immersive aural experience that surround geeks will be drooling over. Dialog is spectacularly clear, even when characters are off screen -- there's a terrific demo moment where Chris Pratt is trying to find tape, his voice bouncing around up and down and behind the audience left ear. LFE levels are also on point, providing heart-pounding heft to gunfire, explosions, and crashing ships. The classic rock tracks have never sounded this clear. And the effects themselves range from whole room immersion down to, as describe above, smaller little Atmos moments.

I wasn't in the Dolby Theater's sweet spot, but from where I was sitting, the whole thing was impressively technical but never exhausting. I look forward to revisiting it from my favorite dead-center seating in the next week or two.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a fun and fantastic example of how modern blockbusters can be clever and dramatic and laugh-out-loud funny all while delivering compelling character arcs and thrilling action set-pieces. In other words, you need not turn off your brain to enjoy this one, but you'll probably want to check out Vol. 1 to get the most out of Vol. 2.

Even if the movie weren't enough to warrant a recommendation all on its own, Vol. 2 features one of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful Dolby Vision HDR wide color gamut gradings I've ever seen, right up there with Pacific Rim, The Jungle Book, and Inside Out (which featured one scene in Rec.2020). In all my years of cinema-going, I've never seen colors as vibrant. The Dolby Atmos mix is also brimming with immersive spectacle and quieter moments making use of pinpoint precision.

There will be many fantastic ways to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 when it opens May 5th (well, May 4th the night before), but there won't be a truer way to experience it than a Dolby Cinema. I know I'll be going again and I hope to see you there too.

To find a Dolby Cinema at AMC location near you, click HERE. Thanks again to everyone at Dolby for such an amazing night.

Founded in April 2006, High-Def Digest is the ultimate guide for High-Def enthusiasts who demand only the best that money can buy. Updated daily and in real-time, we track all high-def disc news and release dates, and review the latest disc titles.